Month: December 2016

Verse of the day – “Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry…

“Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can rob his house.”
â€”Matthew 12:29

Thoughts on Today’s Verse…
Jesus is quoting a general truism that was popular in his day, but was using the “strong man” saying to refer to Satan. Satan is the strong man that had us bound by sin and death and Jesus broke into house and stole us back because he could bind the strong man. He did this by becoming human and facing death with complete obedience to God and then rose from the dead to defeat death and give us life! Praise God! Jesus broke into the Strong Man’s house. He overpowered him and bound him. And, what did he bring out of the Strong Man’s house? Buried treasure, of course! And that treasure is us!!

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Verse of the day – Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken…

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”
â€”Hebrews 12:28-29

Thoughts on Today’s Verse…
Every earth-made empire will eventually topple. Every man-made structure will decay and fall. God, however, has given us a kingdom that can’t rust, spoil, or fade, kept in heaven for us. It won’t rot or ruin and no thief can break in and steal it away.

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My Prayer – Father, thank you for making me a part of something so precious..

Father, thank you for making me a part of something so precious, so awesome, as the bodily presence of the Lord. Please help each person in our church family to find his or her gifts of service and to use those gifts in ways that touch others with your grace and that bring you glory. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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The Indian government has promised to do everything it takes to secure the freedom of kidnapped priest Fr Tom Uzhunnalil after the release of a video by his Islamic State captors.

Uzhunnalil, from Bangalore, was kidnapped by fighters who overran a home for elderly people in Aden, killing four nuns. In all, 16 people died in the attack. Unfounded rumours that he was to be crucified on Good Friday spread rapidly despite denials by the Church and the Indian government.

He says in the video: “If I were a European priest, I would have been taken more seriously. I am from India. I am perhaps not considered as of much value.”

He adds: “Nothing has been done by Pope Francis or the Bishop of Abu Dhabi to get me released, in spite of contact being made by my captors… Dear Pope Francis, dear Holy Father, as a father please take care of my life. I am very much depressed. My health is deteriorating.”

Watch his video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sv8S6DkTDF8

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LONDON — Rev. Billy Graham once said, “Sincerity is the biggest part of selling anything, including the Christian plan of salvation.” In London, CBN News met a renowned artist whose sincere search for God has made him a most unlikely evangelist.

Charlie Mackesy has been described as “a world class artist,” selling artwork to the likes of Whoopi Goldberg and Sting. He invited CBN News into his home that doubles as an art studio in the Brixton neighborhood of London.

Surrounded by dozens of his paintings, drawings, we ask when he discovered he had artistic ability.

“It’s a good question; I mean, I think I probably knew that I could draw at school,” Mackesy said. “But I think you need a reason to draw.”

He found that reason about 25 years ago, in a London park. An atheist at the time, he said he had a feeling “that there must be more to this than meets the eye,” Mackesy said.

“Jesus quietly introduced me to a journey into finding people really beautiful, which is how my art really began,” he said. “Because I felt inside me he was going, ‘Look. How beautiful is that guy sitting on that bench?’ And I would have never noticed him before.”

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Man Forgives 2 Boys Who Set Fires That Killed His Wife and 2 Daughters: ‘That’s What Jesus Would Do’

A father whose wife and two daughters perished in a devastating wildfire last month in Gatlinburg, Tennessee wrote an inspiring message to the two teenagers suspected of igniting the inferno.

Instead of blame or bitterness, Michael Reed only has words of compassion.

“I forgive you. My son forgives you. My wife and beautiful girls forgive you,” he wrote in an open letter on the Gatlinburg Fire Missing or Found Facebook page.

Reed, husband of the late Constance Reed and father to the late Chloe and Lily Reed, continued: “We will pray for you. Every day. We will pray for your parents and your family members. Every day. We will pray for your peace. We will show you grace. Why? Because that’s what Jesus would do.”

Reed later told the Knoxville News Sentinel that his forgiveness is not for the well-being of the culprits as much as it is for his own.

“As humans it is sometimes hard to show grace. We hold grudges. We stay angry. We point the finger and feel we have to lay the blame somewhere. It’s human nature and completely understandable. But I did not raise my children to live with hate. I did not teach my girls or my son to point the finger at others. John 8:7 says, ‘Let he who has not sinned cast the first stone,'” Reed wrote.

He said he posted the letter to get the feelings off his chest and not to gain recognition.

“I had to think about it and how I have raised my children,” he said. “I have raised them to be forgiving, courteous and respectful. If this was flipped and I had passed away, I wouldn’t want them to hold a grudge â€“ to be resentful and angry.”

Reed believes the boys who have been charged with aggravated arson are too young to “know God’s design” and “haven’t lived enough of life to know the consequences of their actions.”

“I always told Constance you can never appreciate heaven until you have been through hell because you have nothing to compare it to,” Reed said.

He believes that if his wife were still alive, she would have wanted him to forgive as a testament to God’s devotion in their life.

“If you live your whole life holding a grudge against everybody who has ever hurt you, then you will be lonely the rest of your life. The true definition of a Christian is doing the right thing when nobody is looking. I hurt and I can be angry with them. This is not how our life was supposed to be. But if Jesus has forgiven me and my neighbours for our sins, I have to follow in his footsteps,” he said.

Reed and his teenage son, Nicholas, reportedly heard about the fires while they were on the road and tried to rush back to Gatlinburg. But when they arrived, the authorities told them that his wife and children died from the tragedy.

The wildfires reportedly damaged more than 2,400 structures and caused more than $500 million in damages.

Source:
ChristianToday

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Sweet and precious God, almighty and awesome in glory, yet so near and so concerned about my heart, thank you for knowing and loving me with an everlasting love. Please give me the wisdom to see beyond the transitory things of life and find you and your sustaining presence. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

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